This week, with Spring Training beginning, it’s time to start talking about baseball. In keeping with this theme of lists, I’ve put together a list of the top 15 active overrated MLB players in the game. The term overrated doesn’t have a great connotation, but to be overrated, a player does have to be very talented. Typically, an overrated player is someone who had a nice start to their career but plateaued without anyone realizing it. Or someone who may be injury-prone, but people still expect them to play 150 games.
Bo Bichette-Toronto Blue Jays:
Bichette came into the league as a 21 yr. old, second generation, phenom. It took him three seasons to truly break through, but over the next three seasons, his numbers were nice…but never dominant. He’s never hit 30 HRs and has only had one 20/20 year. He’s now entered his age-27 year, but he’s coming off a disappointing injury-riddled season.
Xander Bogaerts-San Diego Padres:
Sometimes, someone can be overrated based on a big contract…such is the case for Bogaerts. He’s now entering his age-32 season, with eight seasons left on his 11yr/$280M deal. And, although $280M may sound like chump change compared to some of the more recent deals being made, it’s still a ton of money and years left. He’s barely holding onto a .800 OPS, He’s only had one 30 HR season, and has never stolen 20 bases. And over the last three seasons, his avg. has steadily declined, only hitting .264 last year.
Alex Bregman-Boston Red Sox:
Similar to Bogaerts, Bregman has a very lucrative contract…realistically, too lucrative. Bregman is just not a $40M player. Similar to Bogaerts, he’s a two-time champion, but he’s only been to two all-star games. Although his peak was higher than Bogaerts, it was a quick look at the top before falling back. He was no.2 in the MVP race in 2019, when he hit 41 HRs. But he’s had a slight decline since.
Byron Buxton-Minnesota Twins:
Buxton is the poster child for the overrated player due to injuries. There is no doubt in my mind that someone at your draft will take Buxton two rounds too soon or spend a few extra dollars. After a while, you are what you’ve been. Buxton has all the talent in the world, and the expectations of him have always been through the roof. But the stats just don’t back it up. He played 102 games last year, which was his first with over games since 2017. He hasn’t had double-digit SBs since 2019. He’s never had over 60 RBIs…and only hit over 20 HRs once, when he hit 28, in only 92 games in 2022.
Dylan Cease-San Diego Padres:
Cease is a nice pitcher who eats innings…by today’s standards. He takes the ball every five days, not missing a start over the last five seasons. That is definitely a talent and an important facet of being a pitcher, but he’s not an ace…although he’s a serviceable front-end arm on most staffs’. He does strikeout over a hitter per inning but has a high career ERA, sitting at 3.75.
Carlos Correa-Minnesota Twins:
Correa is now entering his age 30 and 11th MLB season. It started amazingly, with Correa getting the Rookie of the Year award. But injuries have plagued him. In three seasons, he couldn’t even make it to 100 games, and he’s only played 140 games in two of his first 10 years in the game. He’s a borderline top-10 shortstop at this point, which isn’t good enough for a guy with so much hype starting his career with the ROTY.
Jacob DeGrom-Texas Rangers:
With two Cy Young awards under his belt, one more is almost a guaranteed Hall of Fame resume. But DeGrom is overrated. He just cannot be trusted to be on the mound. He’s the anti-Cease, who always takes the ball. In the last four seasons, he’s only made 35 starts. And he’s already 37 years old. Don’t forget, DeGrom didn’t make his first start until he was 26 years old. And he only has 87 wins in his entire career.
Sonny Gray-St.Louis Cardinals:
Gray has only reached double-digit wins in six of his 12 MLB seasons. And he’s only made 30 starts in five of those seasons. He strikes out about a hitter per inning and does win more than he loses. He’s turning 35 this year; at this point in his career, he is basically a .500 pitcher. But people always want him to be more than he is.
Kenley Jansen-Los Angeles Angeles:
In 15 seasons, he’s only been a four-time all-star. He has a fantastic 12.27 k/9ip, but for a closer, his career 2.57 ERA is a bit high. And he’s posted an ERA north of 3.00 in six of his last seven seasons. In addition, he prefers to pitch only in the ninth inning in save opportunities.
Craig Kimbrel-Baltimore Orioles:
Jansen and Kimbrel each have over 440 saves, and each has had many, many solid seasons. But both are extremely overrated at this point in their careers. I wouldn’t want either of them near the ball in the ninth inning in a save situation. He’s realistically on a path to the HOF but for the latter stages of his career, he’s been extremely overrated. He has a career K-ratio of 14.1/9ip, which is otherworldy, but his ERA and strand rate have been awful in the latter stages of his career.
Luis Robert-Chicago White Sox:
He’s played five MLB seasons, and when he plays a full year, his skills are through the roof. But like Byron Buxton, he can’t seem to stay on the field. He’s on this list solely because of his health. He’s only truly played one full season so far (145 games). All he did in that 2023 season was score 90 runs and post an .857 OPS. He hit 38 bombs and stole 20 bases. But with a five-season sample size, the 2023 season was the outlier, and the exception, not the rule.
Carlos Rodon-New York Yankees:
Rodon has made over 20 starts in only half of his 10 MLB seasons. He only has a 75-63 career W/L record. He’s only in year three of his 6yr/$162M contract that the Yankees gave him. He’s overrated on two fronts, based on how people view him compared to his reliability and stats; and the contract that he received.
Chris Sale-Atlanta Braves:
It may be strange to put a guy on this list who’s coming off a Cy Young season. From 2013-2018; in a six-year stretch, he posted six consecutive top-five Cy Young finishes. But after that, there was a quick and huge drop-off. From 2019 to 2023, he only sported a 17-18 record. Last year was fool’s gold…remember, as great as last season was, he couldn’t go in the playoffs. He’s only won 138 career games and is entering his age-37 season.
George Springer-Toronto Blue Jays:
Springer will be 35 yrs. old this season. He hasn’t yet reached 1000 runs or RBIs yet. He’s 39 HRs away from 300. He only has a career .262 avg. and over the last three seasons, his OPS had dipped from .814 to .732, to only .674 this past season. He is so similar to Carlos Correa, which is ironic since they started together with the Astros.
Giancarlo Stanton-New York Yankees:
Stanton is the most perplexing player in the game. Ask two people on opposite sides of The Stanton HOF debate, and you’ll get an earful for hours. He is clearly an impactful player, but he is one of the most reliable players in the league to get injured. He’s no spring chicken at age 35, and he probably won’t be more healthy as he gets older. I’ll make this caveat from the start: he’s better than Dave Kingman…but if you compare their starts, they are eerily similar. Stanton has 907 runs, and Kingman had 901. Stanton has hit 429 HRs, while Kingman had 442. Stanton has gotten 1103 RBIs, and Kingman had 1210. And Stanton has the edge with a .257 avg compared to Kingman’s .236. Obviously Stanton will accumulate more, but if we take a complete look at the body of Stanton’s career, he’s been overrated.